The present invention generally resides in locks and the like. More particularly, the present invention resides in a locking necked barrel bolt apparatus having a receiving keep or stop to prevent inadvertent or forced unlocking thereof.
For quite sometime there have existed straight bolt locks and necked bolt locks. Such are often used in locking gates in outdoor settings. Also, such locks are often used in the case where the door opens outwards, such as in the instance of a small toilet or bathroom where a door opening into the room would take up too much space, as well as doors that open onto a balcony or garden. Such doors often utilize a “cranked” or “necked” bolt to serve either as a primary or secondary means of locking the door.
In the case of a typical straight bolt lock, a straight bolt slidable through a body is attached to the door or gate. The bolt can be retracted so that the door can be opened. Upon extending the bolt through a lock plate or catch, the door is locked. In such straight bolts, a small handle or extension protrudes generally transverse to the straight bolt so as to be inserted into a keep or locking notch so that the bolt cannot be removed from the locked plate or catch until it is intentionally removed from the notch and withdrawn. This is done by turning the bolt a quarter turn to remove it from the locking notch and sliding it away from the lock plate or catch. Such arrangement is very desirable as it does not allow forced entry through the door as readily, and can be used in vertical situations, such as placing the lock at the top of a door and frame.
However, there are instances where straight bolt locks are not viable as the door stop or frame does not lie flush with the door itself. In such instances, with reference to FIG. 1 which illustrates a prior art necked bolt, a necked bolt lock 10 is used. Such a lock 10 includes an attachment plate 12 for securing the lock 10 to a door, a hollow barrel body 14 through which slides the necked bolt 16. As will be seen in FIG. 1, the bolt 16 includes an angled end 18 which is inserted through an aperture 20 of a lock plate 22, or catch, attached to the door stop or door frame. A screw-in handle 24 enables the bolt 16 to be slid into and out of the lock plate to lock and unlock the door.
However, due to the fact that the bolt 16 includes an angled or raised portion 18, the bolt 16 itself cannot be turned a quarter turn to secondarily lock it into a locking notch or keep. Thus, such locks can become inadvertently unlocked when used at the top of a door as the bolt 16 may merely slide out of the lock plate 22 due to gravity, or forced entry.
Accordingly, there is a continuing need for a necked barrel bolt lock which is capable of being secondarily locked similar to a straight bolt lock. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides other related advantages.